Chapter 61
Baek-Cheong recalled the beginner and basic chapters of the Five Elements Taiji Pill Refining Method as she laid the Foundation of the Formation around the Pill Furnace using jade stones.
Then, she drew up the Five Elements Qi from her Dantian and ignited a spiritual flame in the Brazier located at the bottom of the Pill Furnace.
“Huu…”
Taking a deep breath, she began the Pill Refining in earnest.
The Five Elements Pill was an Unranked Pill that could not be graded, but the complex profound principles and the difficulty of handling the Five Elements Qi far exceeded that of any ordinary 2nd-Grade Pill.
First, she tossed the leaves of the Cold Ice Herb, which harbored the Water Element, into the Pill Furnace.
At the same time, she infused it with Water-attribute Qi, drastically lowering the temperature inside the Pill Furnace and liquefying the freezing energy of the Cold Ice Herb.
Over the coldly condensed sap, she crushed and added the stem of a hundred-year-old Green Wood Vine, which possessed the strong life force of the Wood Element.
Sizzle!
Following the principle of Water generating Wood, the cold sap soaked the stem of the Green Wood Vine, and an explosive life force rose up as white smoke.
She extended a portion of her energy into the Pill Furnace, rotating the rising white smoke into the shape of a Taiji to contain it and prevent it from scattering.
“Next is the Fire Element.”
Pushing the flames of the Brazier to their limit, she tossed in the flesh of a Flame Fruit.
Following the principle of Wood generating Fire, the powerful flames burned the life force of the Green Wood Vine, heating the Pill Furnace like a glowing red blast furnace.
During this process, the toxicity and impurities harbored within the herbs turned into black smoke and spewed out.
An ordinary Alchemist would have been in a rush to open the lid and vent the impurities.
Baek-Cheong spun the Taiji inside the Pill Furnace even more strongly.
Using centrifugal force, she pushed the heavy impurities to the walls of the Pill Furnace and burned them away.
Then, she gathered only the pure essence of the herbs into the center and condensed it.
When the flames reached their Peak, she ground up the Earth Element’s Yellow Earth Essence and sprinkled it in.
By the principle of Fire generating Earth, the intense flames calmly subsided, clumping together into the form of a heavy, sticky essence.
Finally, she added the decocted essence of Jueuncho, an important ingredient of the Five Elements Pill that harbored the Metal Element.
Following the principle of Earth generating Metal, the sticky lump of essence began to form into a hard, smooth sphere.
“This is the real hurdle from here on.”
Without even a moment to wipe the beads of sweat forming on her forehead, Baek-Cheong focused all her Divine Sense on shaping the pill.
It was time to close the Cycle of Mutual Generation where the Five Elements Qi circulated end-to-end, and apply the Principle of Water Overcoming Fire to form a hard outer Coating so the energy wouldn’t leak out.
She drastically reduced the spiritual flame while simultaneously squeezing the Water-attribute Spiritual Energy from her Dantian to its limit, rapidly cooling the inside of the Pill Furnace.
Crack!
The surface of the hotly heated pill underwent a sudden temperature change, causing fine cracks to form.
She used her energy to suppress the Five Elements Life Force trying to escape through the cracks, fixing its shape in place.
It was a precarious situation where, if she failed to control the energy even slightly, the pill - which forcibly contained the medicinal energy - could explode and blow away the surroundings.
However, Baek-Cheong did not lose her focus until the very end and maintained the rotation of the Taiji.
Finally, the fluctuating energy inside the Pill Furnace subsided, and the scent of the pill leaked out, brushing past the tip of her nose.
“Hua… I lived.”
Breathing heavily, Baek-Cheong opened the lid of the Pill Furnace.
The thick smoke cleared, revealing a single Five-Colored pill resting at the bottom of the Pill Furnace.
It wasn’t dazzlingly radiant or engraved with pill patterns like the Top-grade Five Elements Pill that Yak-seon had made.
The surface was somewhat rough, and the Five-Colored hue was on the murky side.
But it was undoubtedly a Low-grade Five Elements Pill, a Heaven-Defying Pill capable of elevating the Talent of a Five Elements Spirit Root.
“I succeeded on the first try…!”
She grasped the Five Elements Pill she had refined and was about to express her joy.
“Hoho, how commendable that you were Refining a pill all by yourself.”
Startled by the familiar voice coming from behind, Baek-Cheong whipped around.
Standing at the entrance of the Pill Refining Room, having been there since who knows when, was Yak-seon, smiling gently with his hands behind his back.
And beside Yak-seon stood Wang Sam, watching with an intrigued expression.
“Hic! T-That’s not it…”
She had been caught red-handed sneaking into an empty Pill Refining Room and squandering Precious Spiritual Herbs.
Panicking, Baek-Cheong rolled her eyes to find an excuse, but she couldn’t bring herself to speak because of Wang Sam’s presence.
However, Yak-seon had already known that Baek-Cheong had entered through the Formation he had set up around the Pill Refining Room.
He had been watching with interest to see what kind of trouble she would cause using the Five Elements Taiji Pill Refining Method, and had just brought Wang Sam in as the Pill Refining reached its final stages.
“Let us see what you have refined.”
As Yak-seon approached and held out his hand, Baek-Cheong resigned herself and helplessly handed over the Low-grade Five Elements Pill she had made.
“Hmm.”
Yak-seon placed the Low-grade Five Elements Pill on his palm, smelled it, and examined its energy.
“Although you were inexperienced in controlling the energy, leaving the surface rough and the impurities not fully extracted, resulting in a Low-grade Quality, you have excellently implemented the principles of mutual generation and overcoming of the Five Elements without a single deviation. For your first time Refining a Five Elements Pill, it is an achievement worthy of praise.”
At Yak-seon’s praise, Baek-Cheong wore a bewildered expression.
She thought a thunderous scolding would fall upon her for stealing and using precious ingredients, but instead, he was patting her back as if he were proud of her.
On the other hand, Wang Sam, who was quietly observing the situation from the side, could not hide his internal shock.
Wang Sam looked back and forth between the Low-grade Five Elements Pill in Yak-seon’s hand and the Young Girl who was merely at the 5th-stage of Qi Condensation.
Wang Sam vaguely knew that the complexity of the profound principles contained within the Five Elements Pill was a realm that even the most renowned Alchemists in the Cultivation World would not easily dare to attempt.
“As you can probably tell from a glance, the Pill Refining of this Five Elements Pill requires such extreme Qi Manipulation and Divine Sense Consumption that even I find it daunting to Refine them in succession. And…”
Yak-seon continued his explanation to the stiffened Wang Sam, not hiding the difficulty.
To make a Five Elements Pill, one basically had to learn the Five Elements Pill Refining Method, and to do that, one had to know how to handle all the Five Elements Qi, meaning initiation was only possible for a Five Elements Spirit Root Holder or a Great Cultivator at the Core Formation stage or higher.
Even for a Five Elements Spirit Root Holder, he or she had to be backed by at least the Mid Foundation Establishment Stage to initiate the Pill Refining of the Five Elements Pill.
Given that most Five Elements Spirit Root Holders couldn’t escape the Early Qi Condensation Stage, it was practically an atrocious Initiation Difficulty.
“As expected… She is truly worthy of being called the Heavenly Talent of the Baek Clan.”
Wang Sam recalled the information about Baek-Cheong and let out a deep sigh of Admiration inwardly.
The Young Girl before his eyes had practically broken through an impossible realm with her low cultivation of the Mid Qi Condensation Stage to Refine the Five Elements Pill.
It was self-evident that once the Heavenly Talent of the Baek Clan reaches the Foundation Establishment stage, she would grow to a level as an Alchemist that would overturn the landscape among the Factions in the Southern Region.
It was a greater Talent than she had shown at the social gathering, but he couldn’t hastily reveal his greed for the Baek Clan’s Heavenly Talent.
“…My Disciple, Cheong-Yi, has outstanding Talent and managed to imitate a low-grade one, but the only person in the entire Cultivation World who can guarantee a quality of high-grade or above is This Old Man.”
Noticing this greed, Yak-seon openly referred to Baek-Cheong as his Disciple to protect her.
At the same time, he emphasized the rarity and production difficulty of the Five Elements Pill, firmly solidifying his dominance in the negotiation.
Wang Sam politely cupped his fists and bowed his head.
“Grandmaster Yak-seon’s words are absolutely correct. It would be excessive greed on the part of the Biun Sect to expect deliveries of the Five Elements Pill, which contains such highly profound principles, like any other pill.”
Then, having quickly finished his calculations, he proposed a compromise.
“Then, just one pill every three years. How about the condition that you deliver exactly one High-Grade Five Elements Pill refined personally by Grandmaster Yak-seon to the Biun Sect through the Baek Clan, as you mentioned? In return, we will promise the Yeonha Baek Clan an appropriate amount of spirit stones, Precious Spiritual Herbs, and the full protection of the Biun Sect.”
The Next Successor of a Great Sect lowered his posture while offering Exceptional Conditions.
Yak-seon stroked his beard and nodded in satisfaction.
“One High-Grade Pill every three years… That much will not interfere with This Old Man’s cultivation, so it is acceptable.”
Wang Sam finalized the agreement made with Yak-seon and left the Pill Refining Room with a polite bow to deliver the news to Baek Mu-Yeong.
And so, only Yak-seon and Baek-Cheong were left in the Pill Refining Room once again.
‘I’m seriously screwed.’
Baek-Cheong shrank her neck entirely, thinking a thunderous scolding was about to fall for the crime of squandering Precious Spiritual Herbs.
However, far from getting angry, Yak-seon returned the Low-grade Five Elements Pill Baek-Cheong-Cheong had made and smiled benevolently.
“Hoho, look at you all terrified. Thanks to your Refining the Five Elements Pill at such an opportune time, I was able to show the Biun Sect the exhaustion involved in Refining it.”
At the unexpected praise, Baek-Cheong accepted the Five Elements Pill with a bewildered expression.
“Uh… So I’m not getting in trouble?”
“Getting in trouble is out of the question. Rather, I should give you a reward.”
Yak-seon showed a soft, benevolent smile.
“Really?”
Excited, Baek-Cheong tucked the Low-grade Five Elements Pill into a jade bottle.
Then, she stored the jade bottle in her Storage Platform and looked forward to her reward.
“Yes, since I told the Next Sect Master of the Biun Sect that you are my Disciple, shouldn’t I pass down all my Pill Refining Knowledge and Secret Methods to you?”
However, the answer that returned shattered her small heart, which had been swelling with anticipation.
“Um… I’m a little tired from just Refining the Five Elements Pill…”
As Baek-Cheong looked up with a tearful face, Yak-seon smiled affectionately and pointed toward the Pill Furnace.
“If you are only a little tired, you should be able to do it a couple more times. You even excellently refined a Five Elements Pill that I didn’t ask for. How could I, as your Master, just sit still?”
It was a low voice, but to Baek-Cheong, it sounded like thunder striking her ears.
“Since your cultivation stage is still low, the advanced chapters are too much for you, so starting today, let us dive into the Pill Refining of the Foundation Establishment Pill, a 2nd-Grade Pill. Since you managed to Refine the Five Elements Pill, it will definitely be possible!”
“Please just scold me instead…”
Baek-Cheong despaired inwardly, shedding tears of blood.
However, he had told her to rest since it was the New Year, yet she had volunteered to come out to the Pill Refining Room and Refine a Five Elements Pill that hadn’t even been assigned as a task, so it was a case of Reap What You Sow.